Trial date to be set next month for man accused of Watsonville rape

SANTA CRUZ - A man accused of raping a Watsonville carpet store employee at knife point and stealing her car will be back in court next month to set a trial date.

Wayne Steven Maynor, 30, is charged with rape, kidnapping, burglary, auto theft and resisting a police officer, among other charges.

Maynor is accused of confronting a woman at Payless Carpets and More on Freedom Boulevard on the morning of July 3, according to police, who testified during his preliminary hearing.

The store was not open, and the woman was retrieving cleaning supplies to take to her second job when a masked man confronted her at a side office door and held a knife to her neck, police said. Maynor is then accused of ordering her to the floor of the shop and threatening to kill her if she moved.

Prosecutors contend that Maynor then handcuffed the woman and raped her, before taking off with a laptop computer, the woman's iPhone and car keys, and other items. Authorities tracked Maynor down using an iPhone application called MobileMe.

Maynor, who remains in County Jail on $750,000 bail, is due back in court on Feb. 29.